Paris Olympics 2024 Highlights, Day 7: Lakshya through to Badminton semifinal; Manu Bhaker makes final of 25m pistol

Despite Michael Olise’s goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up at the death, France keeps its calm to edge past Argentina to the semifinal of the men’s football tournament. 

France will next take on Egypt while Spain will take on Morocco in the final four of the competition. 

FRA 1 - 0 ARG (Mateta 5’)

Paris 2024 Olympics: France beats Argentina to qualify for men’s football semifinal

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s fifth minute strike was the difference between the two sides as France beat Argentina 1-0 to qualify for the semifinal of the men’s football competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei wins Gold in 10,000m with an Olympic Record time of 26:43.14 ahead of Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi and USA’s Grant Fisher . 

ARCHERY: Men’s team final: Korea (Sihyeon Lim & Woojin Kim) bt Germany (Michelle Kroppen & Florian Unruh) 6-0.

BADMINTON: Mixed doubles final: Zheng Si Wei & Huang Ya Qiong (Chn) bt Kim Won Ho & Jeong Na Eun (Kor) 21-8, 21-11.

DIVING: Men’s synchronised 3m springboard: 1. China (Long Dayoi) 446.10, 2. Mexico (Juan Manuel & Osmar Olvera) 444.03, 3. Great Britain (Lorenzo Marsagla & Jack Laughter) 438.15.

EQUESTRIAN: Jumping Team final: 1. Great Britain, 2. USA, 3. France.

GYMNASTICS: Women’s Trampoline: 1. Bryony Page (Gbr), 2. Viyaleta Bardzil Ouskaya (AIN), 3. Sophanie Methot (Can). 

JUDO: Men’s 100kg final: Teddy Riner (Fra) bt Minjong Kim (Kor) 10-0; Women’s 78kg final: Beatriz Souza (Bra) bt Raz Hershko (Isr) 1-0.

ROWING: Men’s Pair final: 1. Croatia (Martin Sinkovic, Valent Sinkovic) 6:23.66, 2. Great Britain (Oliver Wynne-Griffith & Tom George) 6:24.11, 3. Switzerland (Roman Roeosli & Andrin Gulich) 6:24.76; Women’s Pair final: 1. Netherlands (Ymkje Clevering & Veronique Meester) 6:58.67, 2. Romania (Iona Vrinceanu & Roxana Anghel) 7:02.97, 3. Australia (Jess Morrison & Annabelle McIntyre) 7:03.54; Lightweight: Men’s Double Sculls A: 1. Ireland (Fintan McCarthy & Paul McCarthy) 6:10.99, 2. Italy (Stefano Oppo & Gabriel Soares) 6:13.33, 3. Greece (Antonios Papakonstantinou & Petros Gkaidatzis) 6:13.44; Women’s Double Sculls: 1. Great Britain (Emily Craig & Imogen Grant) 6:47.06, 2. Romania (Gianina Elena van Groningen & Livia Lonela Cozmiuc) 6:48.78, 3. Greece (Dimitra Kontou & Zoi Fitisiou) 6:49.28. 

SHOOTING: Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions: 1. Chiara Leone (Sui) 464.4 (OR), 2. Sagen Maddalena (USA) 463.0, 3. Oiongyue Zhang (Chn) 452.9.

GOAL!! Jean-Phillipe Mateta scores the opener for France against Argentina in the men’s football quarterfinal. The forward made a run to the near post to nod in the goal following a corner in from Michael Olise. 

Novak Djokovic qualifies for the final of the tennis men’s singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Italy’s Leonardo Musetti. Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in a Wimbledon final rematch on Sunday.

India’s Tajinderpal Singh Toor finished 15th among 16 competitors in Group A of Shot Put Qualification with a best throw of 18.05. 

Italy’s Leonardo Fabbi, Czechia’s Tomas Stanek, USA’s Ryan Crouser and New Zealand’s Jacko Gill qualified for the final after crossing the 21.35m qualification mark. 

France’s Leon Marchand won the 200m individual medley gold with a new Olympic Record of 1:54.06. Team GB’s Duncan Scott wins silver with 1:55.31 and China’s Shin Wang wins bronze with 1:56.00

India’s Tajinderpal Singh Toor commits a foul in his second attempt of the Men’s Shot Put Qualification. He currently stands in 15th place among 16 competitors in Group A. 

Australia’s Kaylee McKeown seals Gold in the women’s 200m backstroke with an Olympic Record time of 2:03.73. Regan Smith of USA wins silver with 2:04.26 and Canada’s Kylie Masse wins bronze with 2:05.57.

Australia’s Cameron McEvoy of Australia wins gold in the Men’s 50m freestyle with a time of 21.25. Team GB’s Benjamin Proud finishes second with 21.30 and France’s Florent Manaudou wins bronze with 21.56. 

Tajinderpal Singh Toor throws a 18.05 in his first attempt of the Shot Put qualification round. He currently stands 14th among the 16-member Group A. 

India’s Tajinderpal Singh Toor in action in Group A of Men’s Shot Put Qualification. The qualification mark is 21.35. 

Top seed Shi Yu Qi ousted from the Badminton Men’s Singles after a straight game loss to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsaran. 

Viditsarn bears Yu Qi 21-12, 21-10

Balraj Panwar finishes 5th in Men’s Single Sculls Final D with a time of 7:02.37 to finish 23rd overall. 

The USA registered a World Record time of 3:07.41 to win Heat 1 of the 4x400m Mixed Relay. The four US participants include Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deamon and Kaylyn Brown. 

The previous record of 3:08.80 was set by USA in Budapest in 2023. The previous Olympic Record of 3:09.87 was set by Poland in Tokyo 2020. 

Spain beat Japan 3-0 in the quarterfinal of the men’s football tournament. Fermin Lopez scores a brace with captain Abel Ruiz scoring the third. 

JPN 0 - 0 ESP (Lopez 11’, 73’, Ruiz 86’)

In the previous encounter, Morocco beat USA 4-0 thanks to goals from Sofiane Rahimi, Ilias Akhomach, Achraf Hakimi and Mehdi Maouhoub. 

Parul Chaudhary finishes 14th in Heat 2 of the Women’s 5000m Round 1 with a season best timing of 15:10.68. 

Beatrice Chebet leads the Heat with 15:00.73. 

Lakshya Sen becomes first Indian male shuttler to make the semifinals of the badminton event at the Olympics. 

Lakshya beats Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 in the quarterfinal. 

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Parul Chaudhary in action in Heat 2 of the Women’s 5000m Round 1. The top eight finishers from the heat will qualify for the final. 

India’s Ankita finishes 20th in Heat 1 of the Women’s 5000m Round 1 with a time of 16:19.38. Faith Kiyegon won the Heat with a time of 14:57. 56. The top 8 members from each Heat qualify for the final. 

Lakshya Sen levels the match at one game apiece after sealing the second game 21-15 against Chinese Taipei’s Chou. 

A good comeback from 11-15 but Lakshya Sen falls short to concede the first game 19-21 to Chou of Chinese Taipei. 

India’s Shubhankar Sharma finishes T25 after round 2 of Golf Individual Men’s Strokeplay with 3 under par. Gaganjeet Bhullar stands T52 with 2 over par. 

Xander Schauffele of USA, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood are tied on top at 11 under par. 

Lakshya Sen in action now against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the badminton men’s singles quarterfinal. 

India’s Vishnu Saravanan finishes 20th in Race of the Sailing Men’s Dinghy Race 3 with a time of 51:40, 2.17 seconds behind the leader Matt Wearn of Australia. 

In the following Race 4, he finishes 19th, 1.15 seconds behind Filip Jurisic (46.44). Currently, Vishnu stands 22nd in the overall standings. 

Men Singles Semifinals:

Fan Zhendong, China, def. Felix Lebrun, France, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5.

Women’s Singles Semifinals:

Chen Meng, China, def. Shin Yubin, South Korea, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7.

Sun Yingsha, China, def. Hina Hayata, Japan, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2.

Poland’s Iga Swiatek beats Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-1 to win bronze in the women’s singles.

Qinwen Zheng faces Donna Vekic for gold tomorrow at 7:00 pm IST. 

Set 4:

India: 8, 9; 8, 10 - 35

USA: 10, 9; 9, 9 - 37

USA beats India 6-2 to win the bronze medal in the archery mixed team event. 

Set 3:

India: 10, 9; 9, 10 - 38

USA: 10, 7, 8, 8 - 33

India make a comeback in the bronze medal match. USA leads 4-2 ahead of the deciding 

Set 2:

India: 7, 10; 9, 9 - 35

USA: 10, 8; 10, 9 - 37

USA takes a 4-0 lead over India. Two sets to go and India needs to win both to force a shoot-off. 

Set 1:

India: 7, 10; 10, 10 - 37 

USA: 10, 9; 9, 10 - 38

USA take a 2-0 lead over India in the bronze medal match. 

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat take on Casey Kaufhold and Brady Ellison from the USA. 

Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino beat Jae Seung-seo and Yu Jung-chae from South Korea to seal the bronze medal in the mixed doubles.

Watanabe/ Higashino beat Seo/ Chae 21-13, 22-20

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Paris 2024 Olympics: Rivals Richardson, Fraser-Pryce advance in women’s 100m

World champion Sha’Carri Richardson’s long-awaited Olympic debut got off to a terrific start on Friday as she cruised through the women’s 100 metres heats at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Set 4: 

Korea: 10, 10; 9, 10 - 39

India: 9, 9; 10, 10 - 38

South Korea beat India 6-2 in the semifinal. India moves to the bronze medal match to be held at 7:54 pm. 

Set 3:

Korea: 9, 10; 9, 10 - 38

India: 10, 9; 10, 8 - 37

South Korea leads 4-2 after the end of Set 3.

Set 2:

Korea: 10, 10; 9, 9 - 38

India: 8, 9; 9, 9 - 35

South Korea level the match at 2-2

Set 1:

Korea: 8, 9; 10, 9 - 36

India: 9, 10, 9, 10 - 38

India take the lead in the semifinal. 2-0

Dhiraj and Ankita take on Sihyeon Lim and Woojin Kim of South Korea. 

A comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win for Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime. He will face the winner between Djokovic and Musetti in the final on August 4. Auger-Aliassime moves to the bronze medal match. 

Australia’s goal comes too late and time is up. India finishes off its Pool B exploits with a 3-2 win over Australia. 

IND 3 - 2 AUS (Abhishek 12’, Harmapreet 12’, 32’, Craig 25’, Govers 55’)

India currently second in the standings with 10 points in 5 games. As things stand India will face the loser in Great Britain’s match against Germany in the quarterfinal. 

Argentina can usurp India into second place with a 2-0 win over Belgium. 

Australia awarded a penalty stroke after the ball hits an Indian above the knee. Blake Govers slots it in to reduce India’s lead to two. 

IND 3 - 2 Australia (Abhishek 12’, Harmanpreet 13’, 32’, Craig 25’, Govers 55’)

Excellent play for Mandeep down the right, dancing past defender to lay it up to Abhishek who knocks it in but the referees overturn the decision after an Australian referral. 

Set 4:

India: 9, 10; 8, 10 - 37

Spain: 9, 8; 9,10 - 36

India wins 5-3! Dhiraj and Ankita qualify for the archery mixed team semifinal!

Set 3:

India: 9, 9; 8, 10 - 36

Spain: 10, 10; 8, 9 - 37

Spain takes the 3rd set. 3-3 overall. 

Set 2:

India: 10, 9; 9, 10 - 38

Spain: 9,10; 10, 9 - 38

Set 2 ends in a tie. India leads 3-1.

Set 1:

India: 9,10; 9,10 - 38

Spain: 9,10; 9,9 - 37

India takes a 2-0 lead after winning the first set. 

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat take on Elia Canales and Pablo Acha Gonzalez. 

India gets a penalty stroke after the Penalty Corner is blocked on the line by a foot. Harmanpreet slots in the stroke to double India’s lead.

IND 3 - 1 AUS (Abhishek 12’, Harmanpreet 13’, 32’, Craig 25’)

A fluffed penalty corner delivery from Australia but Thomas Craig is in the right place at the right time, turning in a goal from close range. 

IND 2 - 1 AUS (Abhishek 12’, Harmanpreet 13’, Craig 25’)

Manu Bhaker finishes second in the qualification round of the women’s 25m air pistol final. The Indian shooter finished with an impressive score of 590 with 34 inner tens.

In the same event, Esha Singh missed out on a final spot with an 18th place finish. Hungary’s Veronika Major topped the charts with an Olympic Qualification record of 592 with 27 inner tens. 

Abhishek gives India the lead against Australia in its final Pool B encounter, slotting in the rebound after Lalit’s shot was saved by the Australian keeper. Harmanpreet doubles the lead just a minute later, converting a Penalty Corner. 

IND 2 - 0 AUS

Heat 1

1. Josh Kerr, Britain, 3:35.83 (Q).

2. Brian Komen, Kenya, 3:36.31 (Q).

3. Narve Gilje Nordas, Norway, 3:36.41 (Q).

4. Anass Essayi, Morocco, 3:36.44 (Q).

5. Yared Nuguse, United States, 3:36.56 (Q).

6. Robert Farken, Germany, 3:36.62 (Q).

7. Jochem Vermeulen, Belgium, 3:36.66.

8. Samuel Pihlstrom, Sweden, 3:36.80.

9. Cathal Doyle, Ireland, 3:37.82.

10. Mario Garcia, Spain, 3:37.90.

11. Filip Rak, Poland, 3:38.12.

12. Ryan Mphahlele, South Africa, 3:38.48.

13. Oliver Hoare, Australia, 3:39.11.

14. Abdisa Fayisa, Ethiopia, 3:39.67.

15. Ossama Meslek, Italy, 3:39.96.

Heat 2

1. Ermias Girma, Ethiopia, 3:35.21 (Q).

2. Cole Hocker, United States, 3:35.27 (Q).

3. Pietro Arese, Italy, 3:35.30 (Q).

4. Niels Laros, Netherlands, 3:35.38 (Q).

5. Timothy Cheruiyot, Kenya, 3:35.39 (Q).

6. Isaac Nader, Portugal, 3:35.44 (Q).

7. Marius Probst, Germany, 3:35.65 (Re).

8. Luke McCann, Ireland, 3:35.73 (Re).

9. Adel Mechaal, Spain, 3:35.81 (Re).

10. George Mills, Britain, 3:35.99 (Re).

11. Stewart McSweyn, Australia, 3:36.55 (Re).

12. Ruben Verheyden, Belgium, 3:36.62 (Re).

13. Tshepo Tshite, South Africa, 3:36.87 (Re).

14. Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Canada, 3:36.92 (Re).

15. Mael Gouyette, France, 3:37.87 (Re).

Heat 3

1. Stefan Nillessen, Netherlands, 3:36.77 (Q).

2. Hobbs Kessler, United States, 3:36.87 (Q).

3. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Norway, 3:37.04 (Q).

4. Reynold Cheruiyot, Kenya, 3:37.12 (Q).

5. Neil Gourley, Britain, 3:37.18 (Q).

6. Samuel Tefera, Ethiopia, 3:37.34 (Q).

7. Ignacio Fontes, Spain, 3:37.50 (Re).

8. Adam Spencer, Australia, 3:37.68 (Re).

9. Azeddine Habz, France, 3:37.95 (Re).

10. Kieran Lumb, Canada, 3:38.11 (Re).

11. Raphael Pallitsch, Austria, 3:38.20 (Re).

12. Maciej Wyderka, Poland, 3:38.79 (Re).

13. Samuel Tanner, New Zealand, 3:39.87 (Re).

14. Federico Riva, Italy, 3:41.78 (Re).

15. Andrew Coscoran, Ireland, 3:42.07 (Re).

PR Sreejesh (GK), Harmanpreet Singh (c), Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Shamsher Singh, Sumit, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Abhishek, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh.

Another 97 for Esha in the Rapid Fire round. This leaves her 15th and it is highly unlikely that she will make the top eight.

Manu’s relay coming up shortly.

In the first two series of the Rapid Fire round, Esha Singh registers 96 and 97. That sees her drop from the 10th place to 13th. It looks tough for her with regards to making the top eight spots.

Heat 1

1. Natacha Ngoye, Congo, 11.34 (Q).

2. Alessandra Gasparelli, San Marino, 11.62 (Q).

3. Xenia Hiebert, Paraguay, 11.77 (Q).

4. Valentina Meredova, Turkmenistan, 12.01 (q).

5. Samira Awali Boubacar, Niger, 12.06.

6. Silina Pha Aphay, Laos, 12.45.

7. Sydney Francisco, Palau, 13.15.

8. Salam Bouha Ahamdy, Mauritania, 13.71.

9. Lucia Moris, South Sudan, DNF.

Heat 2

1. Thi Nhi Yen Tran, Vietnam, 11.81 (Q).

2. Halle Hazzard, Grenada, 11.88 (Q).

3. Zhang Bo-Ya, Taiwan, 11.99 (Q).

4. Regine Tugade-Watson, Guam, 12.02 (q).

5. Lika Kharchilava, Georgia, 12.37.

6. Faiqa Riaz, Pakistan, 12.49.

7. Mazoon Al Alawi, Oman, 12.58.

8. Filomenaleonisa Iakopo, American Samoa, 12.78.

9. Mariam Kareem, United Arab Emirates, 13.26.

Heat 3

1. Gorete Semedo, Sao Tome and Principe, 11.44 (Q).

2. Guadalupe Torrez, Bolivia, 11.60 (Q).

3. Leonie Beu, Papua New Guinea, 11.63 (Q).

4. Maria Carmona, Nicaragua, 11.88 (q).

5. Safiatou Acquaviva, Guinea, 11.97 (q).

6. Chloe David, Vanuatu, 12.44.

7. Shahd Ashraf, Qatar, 12.53.

8. Alisar Youssef, Syria, 12.93.

9. Kimia Yousofi, Afghanistan, 13.42.

Heat 4

1. Zahria Allers-Liburd, Saint Kitts and Nevis, 11.73 (Q).

2. Asimenye Simwaka, Malawi, 11.78 (Q).

3. Mariandree Chacon, Guatemala, 11.90 (Q).

4. Georgiana Sesay, Sierra Leone, 11.99 (q).

5. Naomi Akakpo, Togo, 12.34.

6. Marie-Charlotte Gastaud, Monaco, 12.41.

7. Sefora Ada Eto, Equatorial Guinea, 13.63.

8. Temalini Manatoa, Tuvalu, 14.04.

9. Sharon Firisua, Solomon Islands, 14.31.

Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara will be up against Spain at 5:45 PM IST today, contesting for a place in the semifinals.

Manu Bhaker ends the Precision round with 99 points. She is tied on 294 but trails the top two in inner 10s.

The Indian judoka bows out of the women’s +78kg competition, losing to Cuba’s Idalys Ortiz. However, if the Cuban goes through to the final, Tulika will be contesting in the repechage round.

Manu follows up the brilliant first series with a 98. That puts her in the qualification spots.

Esha is down to 10th now.

Just three 9s from the double Olympic medallist to begin the Precision round.

A comfortable 5-1 win for the Indian team. Dhiraj and Ankita will now face the winner of the R16 match between Spain and China.

India: 10, 9, 10, 9 = 38 points

Ankita: 10, 10

Dhiraj: 9, 9

Indonesia: 9, 9, 10, 9 = 37 points

India wins the third set and the match. INDIA THROUGH TO QUARTERFINALS!

India: 9, 10, 10, 9 = 38 points

Ankita: 9, 10

Dhiraj: 10, 9

Indonesia: 10, 9, 9, 10 = 38 points

The set is tied. India 3-1 in the lead.

India: 9, 10, 9, 9 = 37 points

Ankita: 9, 9

Dhiraj: 10, 9

Indonesia: 9, 10, 8, 9 = 36 points

India wins the first set and takes aa 2-0 lead

Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara to compete against Indonesia in the Round of 16 match.

A perfect score of 100 points for Esha. That catapults her from the 12th place to third. 

Esha improves to 96 points in the second series. That is still not enough to move her above that 12th position.

Manu Bhaker will be shooting in the second relay.

Esha starts with a score of 95 in the first series, hitting five 10s and five 9s. She is 12th as of now. Two more series left in the precision round.

There are two stages in women’s 25m pistol. The first is called ‘Precision’ and the second is ‘Rapid Fire’. 

In precision, there are six series of five shots each which have to be completed in five minutes. Ahead of the start of each stage, the athletes may fire one series of five shots each on command. For both the sighting and the match shots in each of the stages, the athletes will get a minute to load. The red lights come on when the command of “Attention” is given. After a delay of 7±0.1 seconds, the green lights come on when the shots are to be fired. After the end of each series, the shooters are allowed a minute to unload. 

During each series of the Rapid-Fire Stage, the green lights come on for 3.1 seconds for each shot; the time between the transitioning of lights must be 7±0.1 seconds. Only one shot will be fired during each appearance of the green light, which must go off after 3.1 seconds, but the target must continue to record a valid shot for an additional 0.2 seconds.

Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh will be the Indians in action.